Nissan builds last R35 GT-R
After an impressive 18 years, production of Nissan’s R35 GT-R has ended, with the Tochigi plant north of Tokyo building the last example in late August. A T-Spec variant finished in Midnight Purple, the final example was allocated to a customer in Japan. The Japanese market has accounted for the majority (37 per cent) of R35 production, which at around 48,000 units in total, has been higher than any previous GT-R generation.
Debuting in 2007 (five years after the R34 Skyline GT-R ended production), the R35 (badged and marketed without the Skyline prefix for the first time) was the seventh-generation car to bear the GT-R nameplate, and the one that arguably launched the model from sports car to supercar territory.
The R35 was also the first car in the long GT-R lineage to be offered worldwide. Despite The Fast & Furious suggesting otherwise, the R35 was the first GT-R to be officially sold in the US.
Australian deliveries of the R35 started later (2009) and finished earlier than most other markets, as the R35 didn’t meet the ADR85 side impact regulation that came into effect in November, 2021. As such, no R35s were imported after this date, although delays in registration meant some of the final units to come here, including NISMO and T-Spec variants, are listed as 2022 models. From 2009 to 2022, it’s reported that 997 examples of the R35 GT-R were sold in Australia.
In Europe, R35 sales ended in 2022, followed by the US in 2024, with Japan receiving the final units this year.
Big Numbers
While all R35 GT-Rs were powered by Nissan’s VR38DETT 3.8-litre twin-turbo V6, not all were the same. Output started at 353kW, and would gradually increase through 357kW, 390kW and 405kW to peak at 419kW in 2017. This applied to the standard production model, but NISMO variants produced 441kW, thanks to changes to the engine internals and turbochargers that had been learned through Nissan’s success in the Japanese SUPER GT Championship.
However, in terms of power, the ultimate GT-R was the limited-edition GT-R50. With design and engineering tweaks applied by Italdesign, the GT-R50 produced 530kW. Launched in 2019 to mark 50 years since Nissan’s first GT-R, and limited to 50 units worldwide, the GT-R50 listed for a whopping $1.5 million.
Remarkably, of the 48,000+/- examples of the R35 GT-R built, every engine was assembled by one of just nine Takumi (artisans) at Nissan’s Yokohama plant, with the name of the master craftsman attached to a plaque on each engine.
The common drivetrain throughout the R35’s production consisted of a six-speed DCT transaxle (no manual or conventional auto was offered) and Nissan’s ATTESA ET-S all-wheel drive system. Like the engine, these would be tweaked and improved as the R35 evolved.
Racing and Records
In its home country, the R35 GT-R continued the success of its predecessors, with five GT500 class and three GT300 class wins in the SUPER GT Championship, most recently in 2022. Additionally, the R35 was victorious in the 2013 Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am Cup and achieved five championships in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance racing series.
In local competition, the R35’s highlight was victory in the 2015 edition of the Bathurst 12-hour. The GT-R NISMO GT3 entered by the ‘NISMO Athlete Global Team’ was the only Nissan in the field that year. Of the car’s three winning drivers - Wolfgang Reip, Florian Strauss and Katsumasa Chiyo – Reip and Strauss were graduates of the Nissan-backed GT Academy programme that took accomplished sim racers and placed them in real race cars.
In 2007, a stock R35 GT-R lapped the Nurburgring’s Nordschliefe in 7 minutes, 38 seconds. While one of the fastest times then recorded for a production car on the challenging 20.83km circuit, Nissan wasn’t satisfied and returned in 2008 to cut their lap time to 7 minutes, 29 seconds. This was cut again to 7:26, then 7:18 in 2012.
A new tilt at the Nordschliefe in 2013, this time with a GT-R NISMO fitted with a bunch of track-specific extras, saw the mark cut to 7 minutes, 8.67 seconds, which remains the best lap for any GT-R at the famous German circuit.
Another record, of sorts, went the GT-R’s way in 2016. At the Fujairah International Airport in the UAE, a specially-tuned R35 GT-R drifted at a speed of 204.96km/h at a 30-degree angle, setting a Guinness Word Record for the fastest ever drift
The End – for Now
While this is the end of the R35, it isn’t the end of the GT-R, with Ivan Espinosa, President and CEO of Nissan, stating the model will return.
“After 18 remarkable years, the R35 GT-R has left an enduring mark on automotive history,” said Espinosa. “Its legacy is a testament to the passion of our team and the loyalty of our customers around the globe.
“To the many fans of the GT-R worldwide, I want to tell you this isn’t a goodbye to the GT-R forever, it’s our goal for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return.”
In what form the GT-R will return remains open to speculation, including rumours of a hybrid or even an EV, but it won’t be applied to a vehicle that’s anything less than exceptional.
“We understand the expectations are high,” Espinosa added. “The GT-R badge is not something that can be applied to just any vehicle; it is reserved for something truly special and the R35 set the bar high. While we don’t have a precise plan finalised, the GT-R will evolve and re-emerge in the future.”
